Weekly Flash

February 26, 2024

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

Updates from Principal Hudspeth
Thanks for joining us at the Stags men's basketball game
Check out the Wait Until 8th pledge
Next week is Reading Celebration Week
Switch out your old books for newer ones at the Book Swap
Yearbooks are now on sale - discount pricing before March 31
Team Teddy St. Baldrick's fundraiser returns to OHS on March 22

March 4-8 - Reading Celebration Week
March 5 - Early Dismissal @1:40pm
March 6 - Author David A. Kelly visits
March 8 - Book Swap

March 11 - Variety Show ticket sales begin
March 14 - PTA Meeting @7pm
March 19 - Early Dismissal, Conferences
March 21 - Early Dismissal, Conferences
March 22 - St. Baldrick's Team Teddy Fundraiser, 5:30-8:00

**Follow us on OHS Families Facebook & OHS_Families Instagram to stay in the know, and check out our OHS PTA website!**

Dear OHS Families,

Hard to believe we move into March at the end of this week!

Birthday Table Cake Refresh

Part of celebrating birthdays is the opportunity for family to come in and have lunch with the student celebrating. We have a special birthday table for the family adorned with a birthday cake. Years ago, our current lunch aide, Karen Buturla, made the special cake. It was starting to look a little worn out so recently Ms. Karen took it home and refreshed it. You can see the cake after its makeover in the photo with Ms. Karen. Thank you, Ms. Karen!

CARES Assembly Review

On Friday, we had our monthly all-school CARES assemblies. For this month, we focused on kindness through the lens of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., reading a book, Martin’s Big Words, and then discussing several of Dr. King’s quotes. Our fifth grade CARES Council members from 5H led the discussion portion of the assemblies first asking what the quotes meant to the students in the audience and then sharing their own thoughts on what they mean for our community. The 5H Council did a wonderful job preparing for the assembly with Mrs. Day and then leading the discussion.

Grade 5 Invention Convention

This Monday, 2/26, our fifth graders will be sharing their invention ideas at our Fifth Grade Invention Convention. Ms. Hanley has organized a full day for our presenters, who will be presenting their ideas to their families in the morning and then to judges in the afternoon. The judging will determine who presents their idea at the state invention convention. No matter the results of the judging, all the ideas and work by our students are celebrated. Thanks to Ms. Hanley for her work in preparing students and to all our fifth-grade families for supporting the work at home.

Class Placement Letters

We will again be accepting letters from families to provide information to our placement teams to help in the making of class groupings for the 2024-2025 school year. Please see the linked letter for more information about the information we will accept. Please know letters containing information we do not accept will be returned. Please send letters in by April 5, 2024 to Terry Budlowski so we can organize the information over the break in preparation for our placement teams.

Have a good week,

David

Spotted at the Stags game

It was great to see so many Otters at the Fairfield University Men's Basketball game this Sunday! Thanks to all who came out for a fun day in the community, and for helping us raise over $1000 for our Osborn Hill PTA.

Wait Until 8th pledge gains momentum in Fairfield

Have you heard of the Wait Until 8th campaign? The movement aims to ease social pressure around having a phone at a young age and creates a community of parents who pledge not to purchase a smart phone for their kids until the end of 8th grade. The pledge does not apply to watches or flip phones for calling and texting. You can find out more about the program and sign the pledge here:

https://www.waituntil8th.org

Celebrate reading next week!

Reading Celebration week at OHS begins Monday, March 4th!

Students can participate in home activities such as Reading BINGO and designing a banner flag to be displayed around OHS. Be on the look out for the Reading BINGO board and banner flag sheet, as those will be coming home.

Students are also encouraged to donate books for the popular OHS book swap - more info below!

For each activity completed, students will be entered in a raffle to win a $10 gift certificate for the Fairfield University book store.

Questions? Contact Ashley Maguire

Gather your books for the Book Swap on March 8

Book Swap prep is underway! The Book Swap is a fantastic event where students can bring in books that they're ready to pass along and then they will have the opportunity to shop for "new to them" books.

We will be collecting book donations from 8:30-9:15am in the OHS lobby on Monday March 4, Tuesday March 5 and Wednesday March 6.

Please bring books in boxes if possible. If it's easy for your child to carry, they can bring books to school via their normal transportation method.

We are collecting children's, young adult and adult books. We are hoping to restock the Teachers' Lounge with some good books as well!

On Friday, March 8th, all classes will visit the Book Swap during the school day. Each child will leave with new books to take home. We will also invite the teachers to make selections to add to their classroom libraries.

Volunteer to help the Book Swap!

We are looking for volunteers all next week to help with book collection and the swap. Click here to volunteer!

Questions? Contact Julissa Pesok and Chrissy Mink

Yearbook sales are open! Special pricing until March 31

The year's not over yet - but it's time to order your 2023-2024 OHS Yearbook!

Yearbooks can be ordered online atwww.coffeepond.com

Click on the Order Yearbooks banner
Enter the password 'ozzie24', select online order and continue
Enter your child's name and grade and the book quantity
Enter your email under contact and select add to cart
If needed, you can purchase more by clicking the order for another child button. If not, you can finish checking out.

Order by March 31st for early bird pricing of $20 per book. The price increases to $22 per book on April 1st and orders can be placed through April 30th.

Have a great photo at a school function? We'd love to include it!

The yearbook includes candid photos of the kids at all of the amazing OHS events that take place throughout the year. Please email them to ohsottersyearbook@gmail.com. Kindly include the event as the subject line of the email, for example: Halloween, Stags Basketball Game, Sweetheart Dance, etc.

We appreciate your help!

Please contact the Yearbook Committee with any questions.

Team Teddy St. Baldrick's Fundraiser at OHS on March 22

Mark your calendars: the Team Teddy Osborn Hill School, St. Baldrick’s event, which has raised almost $1.5 million for pediatric cancer research since 2010, will be back at OHS in FOUR weeks!

Join us for a fun and meaningful evening at OHS on Friday, March 22, from 5:30-8:00PM when Team Teddy-OHS holds its 15th annual fundraiser. There will be raffles, a bake sale, Super Duper Weenie and all sorts of fun for a great cause.

Team Teddy was founded in honor of Teddy Gerber, who was diagnosed with undifferentiated sarcoma in 2009, when he was a 3rd grader at OHS. One of Teddy's most joyful times during his illness was the first Team Teddy event held in March of 2010. OHS Pack 199 had been holding St Baldrick’s events for years before 2010, and offered to hold that year’s event in honor of him. Teddy was the star, overseeing the first 'shavee' of the night (his older brother John), as well as many of his friends. He passed away after bravely fighting his illness for nine months.

Each year since we have continued to meet at OHS on a Friday night in March, to remember Teddy and to raise funds for and awareness of pediatric cancer research. In 2020 and 2021 we were forced to hold virtual-only events due to Covid, but each year we still raised over $75,000. This year we have already raised almost $15,000, bringing our 15-year total to just under $1.5 million.

The money raised by events like ours goes towards grants that allow scientists to better understand pediatric cancers and how to treat them more effectively, giving children a better chance to recover and live their lives.

Those who want to contribute without going bald can sponsor a shavee, buy treats at the bake sale, or purchase raffle tickets with the chance to win fantastic prizes. To sign up to be a shavee, make a donation, or check out our local sponsors, visit: https://www.stbaldricks.org/events/TeamTeddyOHS2024

Have news to share? Email Jen Braun by 10am Friday
to include in the following Monday's OHS Weekly Flash.

SUBJECT: OHS Weekly Flash | Next week is Reading Appreciation week